LOVE him or hate him, expect to see Dennis Miller back in the “Monday Night Football” booth next season.

“Everyone at ABC thinks Dennis is terrific,” says ABC Sports spokesman Mark Mandel. “He has achieved everything we’ve asked him to do and, as a result, the ‘Monday Night Football’ presentation is special again.

“But it is our policy, when in the middle of the season, that we don’t discuss contracts for anyone – and we’re not making any announcements now or in the near future.”

“It’s inconceivable that he’s not coming back,” says one insider about Miller, who is believed to have inked a one-year deal with ABC.

ABC executive Don Ohlmeyer, who helped create “MNF” 30 years ago, was quoted last month as being fully supportive of Miller’s return.

“I can’t imagine a scenario where Dennis wouldn’t come back,” Ohlmeyer said. “Hiring him was a risk with a reward. . .the point is, he’s created conversation about the show.”

That’s an understatement. The sarcastic, brainy Miller peppers his “MNF” analysis with allusions so esoteric that various Web sites – and even college professors – have devoted themselves to translating his comments into plain English.

But his addition to the show, along with Dan Fouts, hasn’t made much of an impact in the ratings – in fact, you could say Miller has hurt the show.

So far this season, excluding last night’s game, “MNF” is averaging 18.5 million viewers, compared to 19.6 million viewers last year – a dropoff of 5.6 percent, according to Nielsen numbers.

However, “MNF” is still considered a TV powerhouse and regularly finishes in the top 10.

Miller will return to HBO to host “Dennis Miller Live” when the “MNF” season ends after next week’s Dallas-Tennessee matchup.